Answer to Question #297008 in Philosophy for suha

Question

Your brother, Peter, told you this morning that he is going to cook dinner tonight. In the evening on your way home from school, you see a man from behind with a red T-shirt taking a bag, in which there are some books. Given that the figure of that man fits with Peter's, who likes wearing red T-shirts and reading books, you firmly believe that “the man who is wearing a red T-shirt and is taking a bag containing books will cook dinner tonight.”

However, what you do not see is that the man is indeed your father, John, who seldom wears red clothes. He does not like reading books, but he has borrowed several books from the library in order to learn how to cook dinner tonight, since Peter cannot cook because he fell ill in the afternoon. 

 

 

In your answer, you should

(b) explain what makes a case a successful counter-example to the classical definition.

(c) explain if the above case is a successful counter-example to the classical definition.

 

Answer 1

It is a counterexample in classical definition since his father can be reading books and wearing a red t-shirt but the conclusion is false since is reading books on how to cook supper.